Method and apparatus for conveying material

ABSTRACT

Material dislodged by a continuously advancing mining machine is deposited in a hopper that is movable with the mining machine. At a fixed discharge station a flexible belt has one end portion coiled on a first rotatable spindle and the other end portion coiled on a second rotatable spindle positioned thereabove. The intermediate portion of the belt is reeved about an idler pulley mounted on the mining machine and movable therewith. The intermediate portion of the flexible belt forms a lower strand portion extending from the coil on the first spindle to the idler pulley and an upper strand portion extending from the second spindle to the idler pulley. The lower strand is arranged to slide along the mine floor and the upper strand is arranged to slide on the dislodged material being conveyed on the lower strand. A drive motor rotates the lower spindle to coil the flexible belt thereon and move successive portions of the lower strand from the mining machine toward the fixed discharge station while the upper strand is being uncoiled from the upper spindle. Material is discharged from the hopper onto the moving lower strand and is conveyed to the fixed discharge station where the conveyed material is transferred to a fixed conveyor. In one embodiment a second coil of flexible belt is positioned on the second spindle when the first flexible belt is uncoiled therefrom. The end of the second flexible belt is spliced to the end of the first flexible belt to form a continuation thereof. When the first flexible belt is coiled on the first spindle the end portion is disconnected from the end portion of the second coil of flexible belt and removed from the first spindle. In another embodiment when a preselected amount of the flexible belt is coiled on the first spindle, the second spindle is rotated to uncoil the belt on the first spindle and coil the flexible belt on the second spindle, thus providing a predetermined length of the lower strand for conveying additional dislodged material from the hopper to the discharge station.

United States Patent 1 Russell 51 Mar. 12, 1974 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING MATERIAL [76] Inventor: John D. Russell, RD. No. l,

Portersville, Pa.

[22] Filed: Oct. 21, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 191,174

[52] U.Sl Cl 198/139, 198/44, 299/18 [51] Int. Cl 865g 15/00 [58] Field of Search 198/139, 92, 159, 44;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,533,660 10/1970 Russell 299/18 2,597,064 5/1952 Charles et a1 198/44 2,846,051 8/1958 Cragg et a1. 198/139 1,977,147 10/1934 Rogers et a1... 198/159 2,579,562 12/1951 Fruechtel 198/159 194,182 8/1877 Seeber 198/159 2,093,568 9/1937 McFarland 299/18 2,774,462 Poundstone 198/139 Primary ExaminerRichard E. Aegerter Assistant Examiner-Joseph E. Valenza Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Carothers and Carothers [57] ABSTRACT Material dislodged by a continuously advancing mining machine is deposited in a hopper that is movable with the mining machine At a fixed discharge station a flexible belt has one end portion coiled on a first rotatable spindle and the other end portion coiled on a second rotatable spindle positioned thereabove. The

intermediate portion of the belt is reeved about an idler pulley mounted on the mining machine and movable therewith. The intermediate portion of the flexible belt forms a lower strand portion extending from the coil on the first spindle to the idler pulley and an upper strand portion extending from the second spindle to the idler pulley. The lower strand is arranged toslide along the mine floor and the upper strand is arranged to slide on the dislodged material being conveyed on the lower strand. A drive motor rotates the lower spindle to coil the flexible belt thereon and move successive portions of the lower strand from the mining machine toward the fixed discharge station while the upper strand is being uncoiled from the upper spindle. Material is discharged from the hopper onto the moving lower strand and is conveyed to the fixed discharge station where the conveyed material is transferred to a fixed conveyor. ln one embodiment a second coil of flexible belt is positioned on the second spindle when the first flexible belt is uncoiled therefrom. The end of the second flexible belt is spliced to the end of the first flexible belt to form a continuation thereof. When the first flexible belt is coiled on the first spindle the end portion is disconnected from the end portion of the second coil of flexiblebelt and removed from the first spindle. in another embodiment when a preselected amount of the flexible belt is coiled on the first spindle, the second spindle is rotated to uncoil the belt on the first spindle and coil the flexible belt on the second spindle, thus providing a predetermined length of the lower strand for conveying additional dislodged material from the hopper to the discharge station.

12 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING MATERIAL CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application filed under even data herewith by the same inventor and is directed to a flexible belt type of conveying mechanism and is entitled Method and Apparatus for Continuous Mining.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a method and apparatus for conveying material between a fixed discharge station and a continually advancing loading station and more particularly to a method and apparatus for conveying material from a continuously advancing mining machine to a fixed conveying apparatus by means of a flexible belt that is coiled and uncoiled on a pair of spaced spindles adjacent the discharge station.

2. Description of the Prior Art The use'of spooled ribbon type extensible support for endless flexible belting is known and is disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 2,774,462. With the arrangement disclosed in this U. S. patent, the extensibility of the conveyor belt is limited by the length of the endless flexible conveyor belt supported on the coiled extensible support.

In U. S. Pat. No. 3,553,660 there is illustrated conveying apparatus for transporting dislodged material from a continuously advancing mining machine to a fixed discharge station. A flexible belt has one end coiled on a spindle mounted on the mining machine and the other end coiled on a spindle mounted adjacent the fixed discharge station. The dislodged material is deposited on the upper surface of the flexible belt adjacent the first spindle and the flexible belt is coiled about the second spindle adjacent the fixed discharge station to move successive sections off the flexible belting from the continuous mining machine to the fixed discharge station. Periodically, the flexible belt is uncoiled from the spindle adjacent the fixed discharge station and coiled on the firstspindle mounted on the mining machine. The first spindle mounted on the mining machine limits substantially the size of the coil of flexible belting that can be wound on the spindle mounted on the mining machine. Further, a substantial period of time is required to uncoil the belting from the spindle adjacent the discharge station and again coil the flexible belting on the spindle mounted on the mining machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The hereinafter described invention is directed to a method and apparatus for conveying material from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station and includes a hopper at the loading station. A first spindle is mounted adjacent to the fixed discharge station and a second spindle is also mounted adjacent to the fixed discharge station at an elevation above the first spindle. Drive means are provided to selectively rotate the spindles in preselected directions. A flexible belt has oneend portion connected to the first spindle so that upon rotation of the first spindle in a preselected direction the flexible belt is coiled on the first spindle. The second end portion of the flexible belt is connected to and coiled on the second spindle so that i upon rotation of the first spindle the flexible belt is uncoiled from the second spindle. There is an idler pulley mounted on the advancing loading station with the hopper between the idler pulley and the discharge station. An intermediate portion of the belt is reeved about the idler pulley and forms a lower strand and an upper strand. Material is discharged from the hopper onto the upper surface of the lower strand and the coiling of the flexible belting on the first spindle moves successive sections of, the lower strand toward the fixed discharge station to thereby convey the material deposited thereon toward the discharge station.

A second coil of flexible belting may be positioned on the second spindle after the first flexible belt is uncoiled therefrom. An end portion of the second flexible belt is connected to an end portion of the first flexible belt to provide additional belting for transporting the dislodged material. The first flexible belt when coiled on the first spindle, may be disconnected from the second flexible belt and removed therefrom as a coil to be positioned on the second spindle when the second flexible belt is uncoiled therefrom.

With the above arrangement substantially more flexible belting may be used by positioning both of the coils at the discharge station where substantial space is available. Also, by utilizing a second coil of flexible belting it is now possible to continuously convey dislodged ma terial from the mining machine without stopping the conveying operation and recoiling the flexible belt on one of the spindles. All that is required with a second coil of flexible belting is an interruption in the conveying operation to splice the belts.

Accordingly, the principal object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for conveying material in which longer lengths of flexible belting may be employed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for conveying material in which the conveying operation does not have to be interrupted for rewinding the flexible belt.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be more completely disclosed and described in the following specification, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. 7

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially schematic view in plan of the apparatus for conveying material from a continuously advancing mining machine to fixed conveying apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view in section taken along the line llllll of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS machine 16 by suitable supports 22 to maintain the outlet portions 24 and 26 above the mine floor 28. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the hopper has a central passageway 30 with a pair of side discharge chutes 32 and 34 that terminate in previously described outlets 24 and 26. The hopper 20 that continuously advances with the mining machine may also be referred to as the loading station 20 since the material dislodged by the mining machine 16 is loaded on the conveyor from hopper 20.

In the haulageway 12 there is positioned a fixed conveyor 36 onto which the dislodged material is deposited by a transfer device generally designated by the numeral 38. The intersection of the main haulageway l2 and the entry 14 may be considered the fixed discharge station 40 at which the material is transferred from the extensible conveyor means, later described, to the fixed conveyor 36.

At the discharge station 40 there is a support member 42 on which a spindle 44 is rotatably mounted. A drive motor 46 is provided to rotate the spindle 44 in a preselected direction. A second spindle 48 is suitably supported at an elevated location at the discharge station 40 above the first spindle 44. Although the support members for the second spindle 48 are not-illustrated, it should be understood that any suitable support for both the first and'second spindles 44 and 48 may be provided. The support for the second spindle 48 is not shownto more clearly illustrate the herein described invention. A second motor 50 is connected to spindle 48 and is also arranged to rotate spindle 48 in a preselected direction.

An idler pulley 52 is rotatably supported on the mining machine 16 by brackets 54 and is arranged to advance with the mining machine 16. The brackets 54 are suitably hingedly connected to the mining machine 16 to compensate for undulations in the mine floor. A first length of flexible belt generally indicated by the numeral 56 has a first end portion coiled about the spindle 44 and a second end portion coiled about spindle 48. The intermediate portion of the flexible belt 56 is reeved about the pulley 52 to form an upper strand 58 and a lower strand 60. The lower strand 60 is arranged to slide on the mine floor 28 and the upper strand 58 is arranged to rest upon and slide on the dislodged material being deposited on and conveyed by the lower strand 60.

The material dislodged by the mining machine 16 is conveyed to the hopper 20 by any conventional means and deposited from the hopper outlets 24 and 26 onto the upper surface 62 of lower strand 60. To convey the material to the discharge station 40 the motor 46 is energized to rotate spindle 44 and coil the flexible belt 56 on the spindle 44 while the flexible belt is being uncoiled from the spindle 48. The coiling of the flexible belt 56 on the spindle 44 moves successive portions of the belt toward the discharge section 40 where the transfer device 38 removes the dislodged material from the upper surface 62 of lower strand 60 and conveys the material laterally relative to the flexible belt 56 onto the fixed conveyor belt 36. A suitable cleaning device 64 removes the small particles of dislodged material remaining on the upper surface of the lower strand 60 before the flexible belt 56 is coiled on the spindle 44.

When a predetermined amount of the flexible belt 56 remains coiled on the spindle 48 the mining machine 16 is stopped to permit the material on the upper surface of the lower strand .to be conveyed to the fixed conveyor 36. When all of the dislodged material is removed from the bottom strand 60, little, if any, of the flexible strand 56 remains coiled on the upper spindle 48. To replenish the flexible belt 56 for conveying, the dislodged material, the motor 50 is energized to coil the flexible belt 56 on the upper spindle 48 whileuncoiling the flexiblebelt 56 from the lower spindle 44. After substantially all of the flexible belt has been uncoiled from the spindle 44, the mining machine 16 again com- I mences dislodging material from the face 18 and the dislodge material is again conveyed by the lower strand of flexible belt 56.

Where desired, a second coil of flexible belting generally indicated by the numeral 66 in FIG. 1 and not illustrated in FIG. 2, may be positioned on upperspindle 48 when the flexible belt 56 has been uncoiled therefrom. The free end portion of the flexible belt in coil 66 is spliced to the flexible belt 56 to provide additional belting for conveying the dislodged material from the hopper 20 to the fixed discharge station 40. When all of the flexible belt 56 is coiled on the lower spindle 44 the belt 56 is disconnected from the end of the flexible belt in coil 66 and the coil of flexible belting 56 is removed from spindle 44 and positioned on spindle 48 when additional belting is required.

It is preferred that'the flexible belting be metallic and fabricated from stainless steel or other high tensile strength steel to permit the belt to be subjected to substantial tensile loads since the length of the conveying reach and the amount of material deposited on the flexible belting is dependent on the tensile strength of the flexible belt.

According to the provisions of the. patent statutes, 1 have explained the principle, preferred construction and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiments. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. An extensible conveyor apparatus for conveying material in combination with an advanceable continuous mining machine comprising:

a fixed discharge station at a point of discharge of conveyed material including a first spindle mounted adjacent one side of said fixed discharge station, 7

a second spindle mounted adjacent the other side of said fixed discharge station above said first spindle,

. and

drive means to selectively rotate at least one of said spindles in a preselected direction,

a flexible conveyor belt having one end portion connected to said first spindle and the other end portion connected to said second spindle,

a loading station connected with and advanceable with the mining machine,

an idler pulley means mounted on said advanceable loading station, I

the intermediate portion of said conveyor belt reeved about said pulley means to form an upper strand and a lower strand between said spindles and said pulley means,

means adjacent said loading station for directing and discharging mined materials onto the upper surface of said conveyor belt lower strand adjacent said pulley means, said drive means operable to rotate said first spindle to continuously coil thereon said lower strand to convey said material toward said discharge station. 2. The extensible conveyor apparatus of claim 1 characterized by a second flexible belt positioned in coiled form adjacent said second spindle and adapted to be connected to the trailing end of said first flexible belt to provide on a continuous basis a flexible belt to convey said dislodged material from said loading station to said discharge station.

3. The extensible conveyor apparatus of claim 1 characterized by hopper means movable with said advancing loading station and positioned between said idler pulley means and said discharge station to receive mined materials from the mining machine.

4. The extensible conveyor apparatus of claim 3 characterized in that said hopper means includes a central passageway therethrough to receive said flexible belt upper strand, and side discharge chutes forming part of said hopper means to direct mined materials deposited therein around said passageway to permit deposit of said materials directly on said lower strand.

5. The extensible conveyor means of claim 1 characterized in that said idler pulley means is pivotally connected to said'advancing loading station to compensate for undulations in said mined floor.

6. An extensible conveyor apparatus for conveying material in combination with an advanceable continuous mining machine comprising:

a fixed discharge station at a point of discharge of conveyed material including a first spindle mounted adjacent one side of said fixed discharge station,

a second spindle mounted adjacent the other side of said fixed discharge station above said first spindle, and

drive means to selectively rotate at least one of said spindles in a preselected direction,

a flexible conveyor belt having one end portion connected to said first spindle and the other end portion connected to said second spindle,

a loading station connected with and advanceable with the mining machine,

an idler pulley means mounted on said advanceable loading station,

the intermediate portion of said conveyor belt reeved about said pulley means to form an upper strand and a lower strand between said spindles and said pulley means,

means adjacent said loading station for directing and discharging mined materials onto the upper surface of said conveyor belt lower strand adjacent said pulley means,

said drive means operable to rotate said first spindle to continuously coil thereon said lower strand to convey said material toward said discharge station, and

transverse conveyor means at said fixed discharge station forwardly adjacent said first spindle and disposed over said lower strand above said upper surface to transversely convey away said dislodged material.

7. The extensible conveyor apparatus of claim 6 characterized by cleaning means positioned over said lower strand upper surface adjacent said transverse conveyor means and said first spindle to remove smaller particles of said dislodged material from said upper surface prior to coiling of said lower strand on said first spindle.

8. The method of conveying materials from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station with a length of flexible conveyor belt spanning from a belt coil pay-off spindle at the fixed station over an idler pulley mounted on the advancing station and back under itself to a driven belt coil take-up spindle at the fixed station, comprising the steps of:

advancing the loading station away from the fixed station while continually paying off the upper end of the belt from the pay-off spindle as required and taking in the lower end of the belt on the take-up spindle at the fixed station,

and discharging the materials to be conveyed adjacent the idler-pulley on the upper surface of the bottom span of the belt.

9. A method for conveying material from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station as set forth in claim 8 which includes,

rewinding said length of flexible belting on said payoff spindle after said flexible belting is uncoiled therefrom.

10. A method for conveying material from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station as set forth in claim 8 which includes,

removing said dislodged material from the upper surface of said lower span adjacent said fixed discharge station, and

cleaning off the upper surface of said lower span prior to coiling said flexible belting on said take-up spindle.

l l. A method for conveying material from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station as set forth in claim 8 which includes,

sliding the under surface of said lower span on the mine bottom, and

sliding the under surface of said upper span on the upper surface of said dislodged material being conveyed on said lower span.

12. The method for conveying material from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station as set forth in claim 8 which includes,

supplying a second length of flexible belting for connecting to the end of the first such length of belting when the latter has been exhausted from said payoff spindle and subsequently removing the first length of belting from said take-up spindle when 7 fully wound thereon. 

1. An extensible conveyor apparatus for conveying material in combination with an advanceable continuous mining machine comprising: a fixed discharge station at a point of discharge of conveyed material including a first spindle mounted adjacent one side of said fixed discharge station, a second spindle mounted adjacent the other side of said fixed discharge station above said first spindle, and drive means to selectively rotate at least one of said spindles in a preselected direction, a flexible conveyor belt having one end portion connected to said first spindle and the other end portion connected to said second spindle, a loading station connected with and advanceable with the mining machine, an idler pulley means mounted on said advanceable loading station, the intermediate portion of said conveyor belt reeved about said pulley means to form an upper strand and a lower strand between said spindles and said pulley means, means adjacent said loading station for directing and discharging mined materials onto the upper surface of said conveyor belt lower strand adjacent said pulley means, said drive means operable to rotate said first spindle to continuously coil thereon said lower strand to convey said material toward said discharge station.
 2. The extensible conveyor apparatus of claim 1 characterized by a second flexible belt positioned in coiled form adjacent said second spindle and adapted to be connected to the trailing end of said first flexible belt to provide on a continuous basis a flexible belt to convey said dislodged material from said loading station to said discharge station.
 3. The extensible conveyor apparatus of claim 1 characterized by hopper means movable with said advancing loading station and positioned between said idler pulley means and said discharge station to receive mined materials from the mining machine.
 4. The extensible conveyor apparatus of claim 3 characterized in that said hopper means includes a central passageway therethrough to receive said flexible belt upper strand, and side discharge chutes forming part of said hopper means to direct mined materials deposited therein around said passageway to permit deposit of said materials directly on said lower strand.
 5. The extensible conveyor means of claim 1 characterized in that said idler pulley means is pivotally connected to said advancing loading station to compensate for undulations in said mined floor.
 6. An extensible conveyor apparatus for conveying material in combination with an advanceable continuous mining machine comprising: a fixed discharge station at a point of discharge of conveyed material including a first spindle mounted adjacent one side of said fixed discharge station, a second spindle mounted adjacent the other side of said fixed discharge station above said first spindle, and drive means to selectively rotate at least one of said spindles in a preselected direction, a flexible conveyor belt having one end portion connected to said first spindle and the other end portion connected to said second spindle, a loading station connected with and advanceable with the mining machine, an idler pulley means mounted on said advanceable loading station, the intermediate portion of said conveyor belt reeved about said pulley means to form an upper strand and a lower strand between said spindles and said pulley means, means adjacent said loading station for directing and discharging mined materials onto the upper surface of said conveyor belt lower strand adjacent said pulley means, said drive means operable to rotate said first spindle to continuously coil thereon said lower strand to convey said material toward said discharge station, and transverse conveyor means at said fixed discharge station forwardly adjacent said first spindle and disposed over said lower strand above said upper surface to transversely convey away said dislodged material.
 7. The extensible conveyor apparatus of claim 6 characterized by cleaning means positioned over said lower strand upper surface adjacent said transverse conveyor means and said first spindle to remove smaller particles of said dislodged material from said upper surface prior to coiling of said lower strand on said first spindle.
 8. The method of conveying materials from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station with a length of flexible conveyor belt spanning from a belt coil pay-off spindle at the fixed station over an idler pulley mounted on the advancing station and back under itself to a driven belt coil take-up spindle at the fixed station, comprising the steps of: advancing the loading station away from the fixed station while continually paying off the upper end of the belt from the pay-off spindle as required and taking in the lower end of the belt on the take-up spindle at the fixed station, and discharging the materials to be conveyed adjacent the idler pulley on the upper surface of the bottom span of the belt.
 9. A method for conveying material from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station as set forth in claim 8 whIch includes, rewinding said length of flexible belting on said pay-off spindle after said flexible belting is uncoiled therefrom.
 10. A method for conveying material from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station as set forth in claim 8 which includes, removing said dislodged material from the upper surface of said lower span adjacent said fixed discharge station, and cleaning off the upper surface of said lower span prior to coiling said flexible belting on said take-up spindle.
 11. A method for conveying material from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station as set forth in claim 8 which includes, sliding the under surface of said lower span on the mine bottom, and sliding the under surface of said upper span on the upper surface of said dislodged material being conveyed on said lower span.
 12. The method for conveying material from a continuously advancing loading station to a fixed discharge station as set forth in claim 8 which includes, supplying a second length of flexible belting for connecting to the end of the first such length of belting when the latter has been exhausted from said pay-off spindle and subsequently removing the first length of belting from said take-up spindle when fully wound thereon. 